 Barked: Thu Nov 1, '12 3:19am PST |
 | |  | | I also have two males in the household, both of which have very different personalities.
There were scuttles initially (but keep in mind we were very inexperienced in dealing with this, and did not introduce them first) but eventually, those died down. Every once in a while, one will take offense to the other taking something of important value, but that's extremely rare, and neither dog is very physical if they can avoid it. As for breeds, Lobo is an Akita mix. The Akita is quite known for their same-sex aggression, from what I've read and heard from other Akita owners.
Basically, we just avoid areas we know will be touchy for the dogs. If we're in a stressful environment, we take Poppy out, so he doesn't have a chance to snap at anyone. If there are other dogs around, we bring Lobo away so he doesn't redirect. If there's food, it's picked up immediately and the humans break it up so that they can each have some(otherwise one - and it's different each time - will chase the other off). Feeding them both by hand has never been an issue, nor has tossing food aimlessly to the floor. The only *triggers* are if the food is in a bowl or a plate. I've even witnessed Poppy grabbing some meat less than a foot away from Lobo, and Lobo did nothing.
That's not to say that sometimes one doesn't annoy the other. As I said, we try hard to make sure that tension is very low in our family, and allowing the dogs their own personal time really helps a lot.
Also, walking them together AND separately. It's a lot of walking, but it helps solidify THEIR bond(walking together can be very bonding) as well as solidifying OUR bond.
Keep in mind, though, that some dogs might be good with other dogs who are visiting or something, but aren't good with LIVING with other dogs. And even if they are, there are good and bad things to owning two dogs. For one, the expenses. Lobo and Poppy are EXPENSIVE. From the monthly nail trims, to regular check ups, to emergencies. Not to mention quality food(don't forget, diet has been directly linked to behavior, so a healthy diet is imperative for mental stability; it works the same in humans, actually).
Umm, other than that, you need to watch out for bad habits. Lobo actually learned barking from Poppy(Poppy is the second dog) and Poppy follows Lobo around like a little shadow. Actually, Lobo is a well-mannered dog, so he managed to teach Poppy good things. Poppy had a jump-start on recall thanks to Lobo. He had a jump-start in basic training, just, really everything. Poppy also learned to dig thanks to Lobo(although, thankfully, neither dog digs underneath fences).
It is certainly possible for the other puppy to learn a timidness from Kokoro. It's also possible, however, that the puppy is extremely social and Kokoro learns that humans are okay. OR, nothing at all changes and neither learns anything from the other(although that I kind of doubt, lol). I mean, it could really go either way, honestly. |  |  | |  |
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